


We'll Meet Beyond the Shore

by AeonTheDimensionalGirl



Series: I’ve Got You (You’re Safe Now) [14]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Era, Caring Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Confused Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Curses, Falling In Love, Hurt Merlin (Merlin), Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Magic Revealed, Merman Merlin (Merlin), Mute Merlin (Merlin), Self-Indulgent, Smitten Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Whumptober 2020, some little mermaid elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:34:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26992999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AeonTheDimensionalGirl/pseuds/AeonTheDimensionalGirl
Summary: Arthur finds and rescues a mysterious stranger that’s been washed ashore.
Relationships: Gaius & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Gaius & Merlin (Merlin), Leon & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur, Merlin/Arthur Pendragon, Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: I’ve Got You (You’re Safe Now) [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1939345
Comments: 25
Kudos: 442





	We'll Meet Beyond the Shore

**Author's Note:**

> **PROMPT No 14. IS SOMETHING BURNING?**  
>  Branding | **Heat Exhaustion** | Fire
> 
> You guys have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to write this.

The day started out as ordinary, if you would count Arthur being stalked by a merlin falcon as normal.

If he didn’t know any better, he will bet that Morgana went out of her way to train the bird to follow him and make him feel unsettled in revenge for not letting her accompany him to the fishing villages; but it’s not like it was Arthur’s decision. Uther had insisted she stay to entertain the visiting wife of an old friend of his, and when the Prince didn’t speak up, the King’s ward held it up against him.

As usual.

In reality Arthur had the feeling that his father simply didn’t want both young nobles to return smelling like sweat and fish.

Anyway, coming back to the stalking falcon, it been following since Arthur and a small group of Knights had left the citadel, all the way to the destination, never breaking away.

As someone who was well trained in falconry, the Prince knew that was not normal.

When he pointed it out to Sir Leon, the older Knight asked him with concern if he was feeling alright.

The blond responded by gritting his teeth, glaring at the falcon, and getting off his horse to approach the villager that had come to greet him at the beach.

“My lords, we welcome you onto our community” the man said saluted, bowing to the Knights.

“One of you came to report a strange storm occurring in the shore?” Arthur asked. The villager nodded.

“Yes, Sire. I and the other fishermen fear that it could be sorcery” he revealed, looking grim, “We’re no strangers to storms, but this one came out of nowhere. There was no warning whatsoever in the sky or the horizon. It just- appeared” he explained, “Strangest thing is that half of us swear to have heard screaming in the night as it raged on”

Arthur frowned.

“Screaming?” Leon questioned for him.

“Aye, sounded like someone was being tortured if you ask me” the fisherman says, “Call me mad, but it was as if the wind were the one yelling. It scared the animals”

Above them, the merlin falcon screeched.

“Was anyone hurt?” Arthur asked.

“Thankfully not” the man answered with evident relief, “But the houses and the boats took a beating”

The rest of the day was spent in helping the village restore itself and inspecting the damage to report at the King. Camelot didn’t exactly consume much seafood, but they did trade it well with their allies.

Deciding to take a break as Leon and Sir Kay began to argue logistics with the villager, the Prince was distracted by a different screeching, this time in the ocean.

Looking over the sea, Arthur notices a dolphin in the distance that seems to be swimming back and forth from the Prince’s position to a rock formation in distress.

“What’s over there?” the blond curiously asks one the fishermen.

“Cove that’s the end of a watershed, my lord” he replied before frowning, “Dangerous to go on high tide”

“Why?”

“High rocks form a barrier that will rise with the high tide and will trap ya, few years ago a group of bandits fell asleep there and didn’t wake up in time to escape, so they drowned. We prefer to go on low tide- fish become trapped in there you see” he then pointed at the distress dolphin in the distance, “It’s mate must be trapped in there if it’s acting like that”

Curiosity well picked, Arthur thanked the man before heading to the beginning of the rock ridge. He’d never seen a dolphin close, so if there was one trapped in there, the Prince would take up the opportunity to properly see one.

When he began getting to the top, the merlin falcon that had been following him let out a small screech before landing on a rock at the end.

Arthur glared at the bird.

“Any reason you’ve decided to pest me?” he dryly asked the falcon, who merely screeched again, the sound strangely coming out as worried before jerking it’s head towards the end of the ridge.

Frowning, the Prince finally got to the top and-

He stood still.

“Name of the Mother-” Arthur whispers in shock at the sight.

There’s no dolphin trapped in the clear waters of the cove.

Instead, on the bottom of the hidden ridge, lies a man.

He’s clearly naked, curled onto himself in a fetal position that barely protects his modesty, and even in the small distance, the blond can see that the sand is a distinguished blood red.

Arthur quickly climbs down, landing on a tiny pond of stray seawater that he waddles in with some effort (he quietly curses the chainmail) before finally reaching the stranger.

The first thing he notices is that he’s got scratches and bruises racking all over his body, probably from hitting gravel and stray shells as he was hit by the storm before finally dragging himself to shore? He must have gotten trapped in it, is the only way the Prince can think of getting his injuries.

The strangest thing though, is that Arthur doesn’t see any visible wounds that indicates the amount of fallen blood that tints the sand, and the stranger also lies surrounded by fallen fish scales, the shade a color that the Prince has never seen before in his life.

Momentarily mesmerized, he picks one up to inspect it.

At first glance, the scale is a rich blue, but upon closer look by the sunlight, there are gold and silver details on the shade.

“What in the seven hells happened to you?” Arthur can’t help but whisper at the unconscious stranger.

… Was the stranger even unconscious?

Gulping, the Prince gently pressed his fingers on the pulse point of the body- and breathes a sigh of relief at the tale-tale beat of a heart. Unhooking his cape, Arthur places the cloth upon the stranger’s body, covering him well before turning him to lay on his back.

The boy- because now that he’s in front of him, Arthur can see that he can’t be any younger than the Prince, perhaps by a few years- he’s unlike anything the Prince ever seen.

He’s skinny, with milk white skin that contrasts with raven black hair; face with prominent cheekbones that give Morgana’s a run for their money, plump rosy lips and stuck out ears.

He looks otherworldly.

Almost enthralled, Arthur raises the boy’s head from the sand, fingers slightly twitching with a strange desire to run his digits through the raven hair-

When the stranger’s eyes blink open.

“Er- Hello” Arthur stammers in greeting.

The boy squinted in confusion at him, breaths coming out in soft heaves.

“Can- can you understand me?” the Prince asked, suddenly feeling anxious that perhaps the boy was not from Albion.

But the raven nodded slowly, wincing and closing his eyes.

“Can you talk?”

Weakly, the boy shakes his head.

Arthur pressed his lips in worry.

“Did you lose your voice?” it wasn’t unusual for people who were trapped in storms. Gaius had explained to him that swallowing sea water could sometimes affect the throat for a while.

But the stranger shakes his head once again.

“…You’re mute?”

The boy nodded, once again with clear effort, letting out a barely heard cry of pain before sagging in the Prince’s hold, breaths labored.

Before Arthur could panic, Leon’s voice called over the ridge.

“Sire?”

The blond raised his head to stare at the Knights on top of the rocks, who gasped when they noticed the boy in his arms.

“Holy shit” Kay said.

* * *

To the most utter bewilderment of the Prince and the Knights, no one from the village recognizes the stranger.

“If Hunith were alive I’d say he’s probably her family” one of the women say in an uncertain tone as she forces some water down the boy’s throat.

“Hunith?” Arthur asks in confusion while holding the raven’s nose.

“She was our healer” she reveals in a sad tone, “Died eight and ten years ago from birth complications. Poor woman lost the babe before losing her life few days later” she looked back the raven that was resting on a bedroll, “He looks a lot like her” she remarked, mesmerized.

She shook her head and looked back at the Prince, once again uncertain.

“We would take him in, but I’m concerned from his injuries, you say he was lying in a puddle of blood?” she asked. Arthur nodded.

“I know it sounds impossible, since the injuries he has are superficial, but yes, he was. He even presented some symptoms of blood loss”

“I’m afraid we can’t treat him” the woman said, “After Hunith’s death we haven’t had another healer, we treat superficial wounds ourselves or ask for Gaius back in Camelot for the worst”

Arthur pursed his lips, looking over the mysterious stranger.

Call him mad, but there was something about him that the blond couldn’t put his finger on.

The Prince stood up, making a decision.

“We’ll take him to Camelot then”

When he announced the plan to the Knights, his men stare at him as if he’d grown a second head.

“It’s decency by the gods’ sake” he barks at them. That gets them moving, although Leon looks at him with a thoughtful expression on his face.

“Is there a problem, Sir Leon?”

“No, my lord” but he has a little smile on his face as he says so, and before Arthur can call him out on it, the older Knight has turned tail and ran, so to speak.

A shift behind him distracts the blond from the idea of hunting down his Knights, and his shocked to discover the boy has woken again.

“Hello again” Arthur says to gain his attention.

The stranger gasps, clutching the cloak that protects his body from onlookers and curling into it slightly, staring at the Prince and his surroundings with fear.

“It’s alright, you’re safe” Arthur says, hoping he’ll calm, “I’m sorry, I didn’t get to introduce myself earlier” he began, “My name is Arthur Pendragon, I’m the Prince of the kingdom of Camelot” he said.

The boy’s azure eyes widened, looking more fearful.

“It’s alright, no harm will come to you” the blond quickly went to reassure, “I give you my word that I’m not dangerous” he said.

The raven looked at him with clear wariness in his fey features.

“I know you’re mute, but is there a way you can tell me your name?” Arthur asked at the same time the pesky merlin falcon decided to make a return, landing next to the bed roll in which the boy rested. The blond resisted the urge to roll his eyes at it.

However, the stranger, upon seeing the bird next to him, lit up. He pointed at it, looked back at Arthur, and pointed to himself.

“Falcon?” the Prince asked uncertain. The raven huffed before repeating the pointing to the bird and himself, this time more insistent.

Alright, he sincerely doubted ‘Bird’ was going to be the answer, so that only left-

“Merlin” Arthur whispered, eyes widening in realization as he turned to the boy, “That’s your name? Merlin?”

The raven nodded, smiling before wincing once again in clear pain.

“Rest” the Prince said to him, gently pushing the boy- Merlin, his name was _Merlin_ \- back onto the bedroll, “We’re going to get you help”

* * *

Traveling back to Camelot was interesting, to say the least.

Merlin woke a few times during the journey, and during those times he would slightly rise from his spot in the cart they’d bought from the village; and look around himself with a childlike curiosity and wonder. During a small break, he’d clutched Arthur’s sleeve as he pointed excitedly at a horse, like he’d never seen one before and was just seeing it for the first time.

“Bit strange, isn’t he?” Sir Kay whispered to Arthur as they witnessed Merlin stare at a flower bed of forget-me-not’s with fascination, “I wonder if he’s ever been outside”

Arthur has to agree, watching amused as his guest pulled out one of the flowers and traced the petals delicately.

However, Merlin would soon look horribly ill, and would fall unconscious once again. The last time it occurred, the poor boy had vomited before fainting, looking more pale than before, and the Knights all panicked, pushing the horses to make way fast towards Camelot.

Uther is waiting for them at the steps of the citadel, looking disappointed at the entourage.

Arthur, for perhaps the first time in his life, ignores the stare, jumping off his horse to retrieve Merlin.

“Arthur what in the seven hells has taken you so long-?”

“Sir Leon will inform you, father” the Prince hurriedly said as he ran past the King (something he’d never done in his life) and headed toward the Court Physician chambers.

“GAIUS!” he yelled, kicking the door open and startling the old man, who turned to look at the Prince with the Eyebrow of Doom™.

“Sire what-?”

And Gaius stills when he sees who the blond has in his arms.

“Merlin?” he whispers, almost in shock.

Arthur almost drops the boy.

“You- you know him?” he asks in surprise as he places the raven on one of the cots reserved for patients. Gaius seems to snap out of his shock, for he quickly approaches the cot and removes the cape from the boy, paling again almost immediately.

Before Arthur can ask what’s wrong, the old man kindly asks him to help him clean up Merlin, placing a small cloth to cover the boy’s privates.

For a while, it’s silent in the workroom. As he gently dabs the cuts in Merlin’s shoulder, the Prince begins to think that the Court Physician will not answer his question and leave him in mystery-

“Not personally, no” Gaius finally answers in a faint voice, still looking strangely perturbed as he treats the cuts of Merlin’s legs, “But I knew his mother” he reveals with a small smile, “It’s been eight and ten years since I last saw her… He takes after her” he says, pausing to run his fingers through the boy’s hair.

Eight and ten years… looking like a dead woman-

Arthur’s breath hitches.

“Was her name Hunith?” he asks, feeling unsure.

“Yes”

The Prince bites his lip, frowning.

“Gaius- the people of the village said that Hunith lost a child while giving birth before also losing her life” he quietly reveals.

The physician sighed.

“No, she did not lose the child” he said, looking sternly at the blond, “I was the one who helped deliver the babe”

Now Arthur was just confused.

“Then- why-?”

“Hunith did not want the identity of Merlin’s father to be known, she swore me to secrecy. Both of them, in fact” Gaius revealed, looking lost in memories, “We’d been planning to lie and say she lost the child while at birth, but she fell ill soon after the delivery. As she lay dying despite our efforts, she asked the father to take the boy and for me to lie about the birth”

The Prince couldn’t help but gape.

“Why? Is Merlin’s father someone dangerous to Camelot?” he asked, not bothering to hide the bewilderment in his tone. It just- it sounded mad! Deliver a child and hide it’s existence like that-

“No” Gaius voice was laced with sadness, “Just from the wrong kingdom”

Before Arthur could even ask what the fuck did that meant, a guard came into the room.

“The King requests for your presence in the throne room, Prince Arthur”

The blond sighed.

He was going to be yelled at.

He just knew it.

Nodding goodbye, Arthur leaves Merlin to Gaius’s care.

But before the door closes, he swears he hears the physician quietly ask;

“What have they done to you, _un bach o'r môr_?”

* * *

True to Arthur’s predictions, his father gives him hell.

He gets yelled at for not finding any sorcery in the village and choosing instead to rescue a stranger that was clearly meant to die by the elements.

Arthur had to grit his teeth to avoid yelling that he couldn’t do that even to his worst enemy.

At the end he’s punished by getting locked in his chambers for a fortnight-

And not being able to see Merlin.

Sighing, the Prince walked towards his bed, taking out his armor with difficulty along the way before taking out the fish scale he’d found lying around Merlin.

He’d asked the villagers what kind of fish possessed this pattern, and he was shocked to discover that no one knew of any fish with scales like that.

Lying back on his bed, Arthur couldn’t help but wonder what kind of mystery was Merlin wrapped in.

First, Arthur is stalked by a bird.

Second, he finds a stranger with unusual injuries and surrounded by fish scales from a fish that no one recognizes.

Third, said stranger has the most bizarre backstory the Prince’s ever heard.

Arthur has the feeling his life will never be the same.

* * *

The next time Arthur sees Merlin, he has to do a quick double take for a moment.

Five and ten days later, Gaius’s chambers have somehow manage to look completely deserted and at the same time like a whirlwind took a little stroll in them; furniture has been moved to the walls to give space in the floor and yet things have been clearly thrown to the ground in what could be an angry fit-

And in the middle, sitting and kneeling in the floor, are Merlin and Gaius respectively.

The Court Physician has a patient look on his face as he whispers something to the clearly frustrated raven. The boy’s eyes are bright with tears and has his arms wrapped protectively around his middle-

And he’s wearing clothes; buckled boots, a pair of dark brown breeches, a blue tunic that brings out his azure eyes and strangely enough, a red neckerchief.

They suit him.

“Er- am I interrupting something?” Arthur finally asks, shifting his weight in an attempt to hide his awkwardness.

“Oh, Arthur” Gaius says, “Not much, just teaching Merlin to walk”

The Prince blinked again.

“What?”

“It appears to be that Merlin might have forgotten some muscle functions in his accident” the physician does not look at the blond while saying this, “So he’s being taught”

“…Alright?” Arthur murmurs in bemusement, looking around the chambers once again, “How are you doing?” he asked Merlin, curious.

The raven bit his lip and looked away, which was enough of an answer in the blond’s book.

“You’re getting there, my boy” Gaius gently said, “Can you walk to your room on your own? I must do my rounds”

Merlin let out a sigh, but nodded nonetheless.

The Physician patted him on the shoulder before getting up, gathering his things before nodding to the blond, leaving the Prince and the boy alone.

The raven looked at Arthur out of the corner of his eye, raising an eyebrow almost similar to Gaius.

“I came to see how you were doing” Arthur said. Merlin tilted his head, frowning before waving his hand in a ‘shooo’ manner.

“…Are you asking why I didn’t come sooner?” the blond asked, getting a nod in response, “I was grounded” he muttered.

Merlin pointed at himself, looking sorry.

“Because of you? Sort of” Arthur admitted, “But don’t worry, I don’t blame you” he added softly at the raven’s look of distress, who changed it to shock.

Coughing awkwardly, the Prince clapped his hands.

“Come on then, show me what you’ve learned” he said in attempt to move on from the strange atmosphere.

Merlin glared at him.

“Come on, _Mer_ lin. It’s been a fortnight, you must have learnt something” at Merlin’s look of nervousness, he added, “I won’t make fun of you, I promise”

The raven bit his lip before nodding to himself. He stood up slowly, swaying slightly on the spot until finally, he was up to his full height.

Arthur had to keep his face neutral when he realized that the boy was taller than him for an inch.

Merlin carefully begins placing one foot in front of the other with some difficulty-

And he staggers on his feet, swaying dangerously-

When he falls, Arthur manages to catch him in time before the poor boy gets a broken nose.

The tears of frustration that had been brimming on Merlin’s eyes begin falling. The boy lets out a sob as he covers his face and his body trembles with his cries.

Arthur will admit that he blanks out when people cry in front of him, but seeing the raven break down stirs something in him.

As gently as he can without scaring Merlin, he embraces him, running his hands on his back in soothing motions while whispering “Shh, it’s alright, shh, it wasn’t bad, you nearly had it” until the raven’s sobs subsided and he calmed down.

Almost awkwardly, Arthur offered his hands for Merlin to take, standing up.

“Let’s try again”

Merlin looks at his hands, pursing his lips, before a determined glint made way into his eyes.

He takes his own on the Prince’s.

* * *

Over the course of a month, Arthur visits Merlin when he can to check on him. Morgana accuses him of being fond of the boy, and he in turn looks at her dirty and says a curt “No” just to be contrary.

In truth, he _is_ getting fond of the boy.

Turns out that Merlin is quite a fast learner, for he soon manages to master walking once again, almost without fail.

He does have some clumsy moments, but Arthur won’t judge.

Aside from that, he takes the opportunity to know Merlin better. Although he doesn’t really have a problem understanding Merlin’s hand signals and facial expressions, sometimes the boy looks strangely exhausted to do them, so for those occasions, there’s a stack of parchment and a charcoal pen waiting in the room that has now become Merlin’s.

“How are you feeling?” Arthur asked as he walked into the room.

Merlin smiled, making a _‘so, so’_ motion with his hand. He’d been looking dizzy and nauseated earlier today, even if he’d been drinking from the waterskin Gaius had forced him to carry around with him ever since he unexpectedly fainted after taking a stroll around the woods with Morgana’s maidservant.

That was the day Arthur had found out that Merlin has a dry sense of humor. His response after waking up had been a simple _‘Worst nap ever’._

“You sure? Today you looked dreadful”

Merlin shot him a dirty look, quickly scribing down on a parchment before giving it to the Prince.

Riling the raven up had also been a favorite discovery of Arthur’s.

It didn’t matter if he was mute from birth (as Gaius had privately revealed to him), Merlin always found a way to snap back, and in a nice and refreshing way-

 _‘You’re a prat’_ it read.

Arthur gaped.

Merlin smirked.

“You can’t call me that” he says with indignation. Although, if he’s going to be honest with himself- Arthur can help but be impressed by the cheer audacity.

Merlin, however, simply huffed and rolled his eyes, took back the note added something new to it and handled it back to the blond.

_‘Sorry. You’re a prat, my lord’_

Gaius came back into the room to find the Prince chasing the peasant boy around.

* * *

Merlin soon accidentally becomes a permanent fixture in Arthur’s life, when he saves the Prince’s life later that week, and his father announces the boy as his new manservant in reward.

Both boys are, understandably, shocked at this.

“Do you even know how to be a servant?” Arthur asks him later that night in his chambers.

Merlin, who had been looking around with something akin to wonder in his features, shook his head, giving him a look that clearly read _‘I’ve got no idea’_ and promptly tripped over his own feet.

“Oh, we're doomed”

* * *

They did not, in fact, end up doomed.

Despite some hard starts on both their parts, to which Arthur will admit it’s largely his fault by being a prat and an ass and a clotpole and a dollophead (where in the seven hells did Merlin get these insults?!) and Merlin… just not knowing some basic things, like cleaning and horseback riding and weapons and armor and nobility rules and money (he caught Gaius teaching him finances)- they eventually settle into a comfortable partnership.

Surprisingly, communicating between them is never a problem.

Arthur can read Merlin perfectly, and Merlin can understand him just as well.

It’s wonderful.

* * *

There are difficult days though, in which Merlin will strangely fall as ill as when he was found by the Prince.

Sometimes the boy just suffers a headache before blacking out in a dead faint; other days Arthur will learn that Merlin is not attending to him because he woke up with muscle cramps, and when the blond visits, the poor boy looks dead tired and weak in his little bed, Gaius forcing a pitcher of water down his throat. 

Weird enough, this happens just right after there has been an attack from a sorcerer or creature of magic.

“Do you have some sort of allergy to magic, _Mer_ lin?” Arthur can’t help but ask with exasperation after he finds the raven vomiting into a chamber pot, shortly after the Prince was bitten by and survived the Questing Beast.

Merlin, for his part, smiles almost awkwardly at him before mouthing _‘Prat’_.

Arthur is left mystified and simply adds it to the list of things that make Merlin enduringly mysterious.

* * *

Two years pass.

Arthur tries to court Guinevere, but he and the maid don’t seem to be able to make it work between them. Eventually she walks up to him and tells them that they should be honest with each other and stay as friends. Arthur agrees, but when wondering why it didn’t work out, Guinevere simply smiled and said;

“Because I believe you might already be in love with someone else”

* * *

There are times in which Arthur wonders if Merlin is truly happy in Camelot. He assumes that the raven’s father must be dead, for as far as he knows, neither Merlin nor Gaius have made an attempt in communication.

But sometimes-

Sometimes Arthur will catch his friend looking melancholic as he stares at the sea when passing through it in hunting trips, quests and patrols.

He’ll catch him looking forlorn every time Uther announces magic as the bane of existence and the root of all evil-

But then Arthur will ask, and Merlin simply smiles at him softly, and raises his hand to trail over the Crown Prince’s cheek before nodding and leaving.

And yet, Arthur still feels a deep sadness in him.

* * *

Morgana becomes distant, until one day she just disappears, leaving only a note that says that she can’t stand living in a suffocating kingdom no more.

Merlin grows further into an ethereal beauty that leads him to some trouble with foreign nobility, but thankfully Arthur never needs to interfere or break a fight. His dear friend can hold his ground surprisingly well.

The Knights and Guinevere grow bold in their opinions and suggestions, and the Prince listens with rapt attention.

Uther begins falling into madness.

Arthur knights commoners and begins looking in retrospection at the laws of Camelot, and begins to believe that perhaps he should push for more inclusion when he is King.

When he tells Merlin this, the raven gives him a proud smile that makes the Prince’s stomach flutter.

* * *

Arthur only asks Merlin about his past once, one evening as they’re reminiscing over a cup of wine; taking out the small fish scale from a hiding place in his drawer in the hopes that his dear friend will finally tell him.

He does not expect for Merlin to break down in tears at seeing the scale, face full of grief as if he’d lost something precious and the fish scale was a cruel reminder of it.

The Prince Regent never asks again.

* * *

Eventually, the past catches up.

Arthur has been King for a month when he and the raven are suddenly ambushed and captured by two sorcerers, getting knocked out immediately.

When they both wake up, they’re lying on a dirty, hot cell, chained to the wall.

Arthur immediately goes to Merlin, who is looking pale and nauseous under the heat. The blond tries looking around for water to give him, but there is none.

“Well, well, the half breed lives after all”

The men turn towards the voice, finding the two men looking at him with dark eyes and smiles.

Arthur frowns, mouthing ‘half breed’ in confusion, turning over to Merlin-

Who is looking tense on his spot, a look of fear in his face.

“What the hell are you talking about?” the King demands, “No one here is a half breed, you fools. We’re both human!”

But their captor laugh as Merlin pushes himself to the wall.

“Oh no, little King” the other one hisses, pointing at his dear friend, “This one is a creature just like me”

His partner snorts.

“Don’t insult yourself, you’re not a disgusting half-breed”

“True”

Arthur decided to humor them.

“Alright then, if Merlin isn’t human, then pray tell, what is he supposed to be?”

The men smile.

“A creature of the sea” the first one revels, smiling darkly at Merlin, “We turned him human, you see. We hoped he would drown like you humans do- but the little bastard clearly managed to survive”

“You’re mad” Arthur said, turning to look at the raven-

And frowned, taking in the petrified state of his friend; Merlin looked like his worst nightmare was coming true, eyes filled out with terror.

“We can prove it” one of the men said amused while the raven began shaking his head with panic in his features, looking at Arthur with distressed eyes.

A stone of dread settled onto the King’s stomach.

“Merlin?” he whispered, “Is it true?”

The raven closed his azure eyes, a look of defeat on his face before nodding.

The King felt his breath hitch and floor give out under him, while Merlin simply looked down at himself with clear shame.

“I- I don’t believe this” Arthur whispered, trying to wrap his head around it-

“Well, seeing is believing”

The two men smirked at their prisoners, and began incanting a spell, their eyes glowing a dark yellow-

And Merlin gasped before doubling over himself in pain, mouth opening to let out a scream that never came out as he clutched his abdomen, falling to the ground at the same time his legs became dark with a familiar stain Arthur recognized with horror as blood-

Merlin did scream this time.

It was a sound Arthur didn’t want to hear ever again in his life- it was full of raw agony.

A wind began forming on the cell as the raven continued to scream, blood continuing to pour out of his legs as his breaches ripped open and his limps fused and-

Scales began appearing amongst the blood. Rich blue scales, which shinned with golden and silver details, a beautiful tail fin flicking to existence with them, leaving-

A merman, Arthur faintly thought.

Merlin was a merman.

Thinking back, this explained _so much_.

The blood and fallen scales that had surrounded him- a side effect from the horrific transformation- How he hadn’t known to walk, how he didn’t seem to know basic things everyone else did, his childlike delight at seeing land animals and flora- Being called a half breed and Gaius telling him that Merlin’s birth was kept a secret and eventually was raised by his father-

It all made sense now.

Merlin, for his side, was shaking. He laid curled onto himself, not facing Arthur, as silent sobs racked his body.

“There you go little King” one of the men said, “Your protector’s true form”

“Protector?” Arthur numbly asked, eyes on the beautiful tail in front of him.

“You don’t know, do you?” one of the me said with glee, “This monster has been betraying all magical creatures left and right to protect the child of the murderer of magic” he spat.

And Arthur believed it, thinking back to the all the times in which victory had been strange and Merlin- oh gods, Merlin had been protecting him at the risk of falling sick all this time?

“How do you even know this?” he asked.

If these men were mermen as well, then how-?

“We’ve be scrying him for a while” one replied, “We felt his magic one day, and it was easy to identify”

“We realized he’d survived and well- the rest is history” the other one said with a hiss before smirking, “We thought about killing him now, but we’ll leave you both to talk a while!”

And with that said, they left, cackling all the way out.

Still reeling from all the revelations, the King turns to look at the magic creature next to him. The merman was still not looking at him, but his sobs has subsided to just crying silently, face miserable and heartbroken.

And then it hit him.

The raven had been living in a magic hating kingdom after being transformed into a human and befriended the son of Uther Pendragon, and their captors had enjoyed playing with the information about Merlin’s secrets-

Oh.

Wordlessly, Arthur moved over to Merlin’s side, hands trembling lightly before settling on his hips, where the human flesh ended and the tail began.

The merman didn’t react, safe for curling into himself further, dragging his tail over the stone in an attempt to hide himself from the King. 

Letting out a shaky sigh, Arthur moved his other hand towards Merlin’s face, cupping his cheek and gently making him look at the blond; tears still falling off his azure eyes and looking desolate.

“I don’t hate you” Arthur whispered to him, smiling softly, “I don’t think I could ever hate you, Merlin”

The raven let out a hitched breath, eyes teary.

 _‘You don’t?’_ he mouthed. Arthur nodded to reaffirm him.

“I should be thanking you, in all honesty”

Merlin gave him an amused look, waving his hand in a _‘Go on then’_ motion.

“Fine” Arthur replied with a small laugh, “Thank you”

The raven let out a huff, but gave the King a delighted smile as hope lurked in his eyes.

Arthur then helped Merlin sit up, making quick to pull him into an embrace, which the merman returned with vigor.

They stayed like that for a moment, trying to find peace in each other’s arms.

“Merlin?” Arthur called, a question forming in his mind, “If you’re half human, half fish- ouch! Merman! Sorry, merman!” he quickly amended under Merlin’s glare

Gods, that tail hit hard.

“… Why didn’t you ever… I don’t know… turn back into a merman? You have magic” the King stammered through his inquiry, blushing.

Merlin sighed sadly, pointing to his tail, then to Arthur before making a motion that stood for sorcery and then crossing his arms in an X.

“You… were cursed?”

A nod.

“And you couldn’t break it?”

Another nod. Merlin pointed angrily at the direction where their captors had gone, and then back to his tail and Arthur’s legs.

“Only they could lift it?”

Merlin let out a shaky exhale, nodding once again as tears brimmed his eyes again.

“I’m so sorry” Arthur whispered, hugging him again. Merlin trembled in his hold, and the King tried to calm him by running his finger through his silky hair.

_“We thought about killing him now-”_

“What will they do you?” he asked with fear in his voice. Merlin closed his eyes, despair in his features.

Shaking, the merman made a fishing motion with his hand, before pointing towards a small crack on the ceiling, were a stray beam of morning sunlight filtered through.

Arthur gasped in realization, bringing the raven closer to him as horror went through him.

Earlier in their friendship, before the then-secret merman became his servant, Gaius had explained to Arthur that Merlin’s bouts of illness were for heat exhaustion, and thus he would always need to carry a waterskin with him.

And now that it was revealed that Merlin was a merman... and there was no water on sight in a heated cell-

They were going to dry him out.

“Use your magic” Arthur begged, cradling the raven’s face between his hands while pressing their foreheads together, “Your tail is back, turn yourself human and escape!”

But Merlin shook his head in misery, raising his chained hand.

And Arthur gasped again.

Cold iron.

“No” he whispered, looking at Merlin with distress, “Nonono-”

“Ah yes”

Both men tensed, sharing a look of panic between them.

No-

“We will make no mistakes this time” their captors said at the same time, before one of them stepped forward, “Clearly stripping you of your tail to drown did not work, so we’ll go to the extreme measures”

“Like father, like son” the other one said with a dark smile.

And with glowing eyes, a new set of chains manifested in Merlin’s wrists, before they yanked the merman out of Arthur’s arms against both their wills.

“NO!” the King yelled as he watched the raven be dragged painfully over the stone, his tail and torso breaking into cuts. He tries moving to stop them from taking the merman away, but he was rooted on the spot by the chain in his wrist, “MERLIN!”

The raven had a hand extended towards him, mouthing the King’s name in rising panic while tears fell down his face as he was hauled out of the cell.

Arthur tried fighting against the chain again, this time finding it not rooted, and ran towards the bars, trying to grasp Merlin’s hand-

And everything went black.

* * *

Arthur wakes to being shaken with desperation.

_“-re!”_

_“-ncess!”_

Groggily, the King opened his eyes, finding the Knights of the Round Table looking down at him with concern and anxiety in their faces.

Someone was missing-

Arthur shot up.

“MERLIN!” he exclaimed in panic, “Where’s Merlin?!”

“We don’t know, Sire” Lancelot revealed with fear in his face, “We’d been searching the place after disposing of your captors, and we couldn’t find you both- we thought he’d be with you”

So the bastards were dead.

Good.

“The other cells are empty!” Elyan’s voice called in panic.

“Nothing in the main hall either!” Percival added.

“Search again damn it!” Arthur yelled with frustration as he got up, trying to hide his trepidation as dread filled his stomach.

How long had he been unconscious?

The little beam of sunlight indicated that it was well into the afternoon.

Chocking back a cry, Arthur ran out of the cell, followed by the Knights, screaming Merlin’s name as they divided themselves once again, the King taking Leon with him.

“Are you sure you searched everywhere?” he asked while they ran across a courtyard.

He stopped to think.

Their captors wanted to kill Merlin by drying him up… what’s the point in a building where the sun will always shine with a vengeance?

“The roof” Arthur whispered, turning to Leon, “Have you checked the roof?” he asked, already looking for an entrance to it.

“We have not!”

Stairs, stairs- where the fuck where the-

“Arthur!”

Leon had found a spiraled staircase, and Arthur sprinted towards it, skipping two steps at a time, heart on his throat-

They stopped dead in their tracks when they reached the end.

“Holy shit” Leon whispered.

Merlin, deathly pale and sporting deep red sunburns, was lying curled over himself with hands tied together and raised upwards by a chain connected to a dead tree that must have grown at one point during the abandonment of the place-

And- he was-

The Knights could not see him moving.

Panicking, Arthur ran to the merman, horrified to discover how dry Merlin’s scales and lips were, despite the beads of sweat in his torso and forehead.

“No, no- Merlin?” the King called, gathering the raven in his arms, eyes stinging as he tried to look for a pulse like all those years ago-

He found it, weak and fast under his fingertips, while the raven’s breathing was shallow.

“Hey, it’s over… come now, open your eyes” Arthur whispered, cupping Merlin’s cheek, “Merlin-” he cut himself off with a sob, hiding his face on the raven hair before gasping.

Water.

Merlin needed-

“Is there anywhere near with water?” he asked Leon, who was still looking at Merlin with shock.

“I- yes” the Knight stammered, “There’s a lake close”

Arthur gripped the barely alive merman in his arms as he rose.

“Take me there”

* * *

After freeing Merlin from the chains, Arthur steadily ignored the gasps of surprise from the rest of the Knights as he followed Leon unto the loch.

All he cared about was getting Merlin to safety and ensuring his survival.

He couldn’t lose him.

Not in the seven hells.

Just as they got to the mere, Merlin let out a small sigh and stilled in his arms.

Arthur jumped into the lake.

Hissing under his breath at the coldness that received him, he went on past the shore, dropping to his knees before he carefully lowered Merlin onto the waters until the merman was completely submerged.

A moment passed.

Merlin kept still.

“Please, Merlin” Arthur sobbed, tears falling freely from his eyes, “For me, please- just- just a deep breath, please” he rose the merman’s head, embracing him as he kept on begging, “Don’t leave me- please Merlin- stay with me-”

Something flickered in his line of vision.

The King rose his head-

And saw a rich blue tail, with gold and silver details, slowly yet steadily flipping in the water, while at the same time he hears a deep breath hitching beneath him.

“Merlin” the blond whispered.

The raven smiled up at him in joy.

 _‘Arthur’_ he mouthed, fondness twinkling in his azure eyes.

The King laughed in relief, cupping the merman’s cheek with reverence, feeling his breath slightly hitch when the raven leaned into his touch with a small sigh.

A cough interrupted their moment.

Turning back onto the shore, they saw the Knights looking at them with little smiles on their faces, despite still looking shocked to see Merlin with a tail.

The merman curled onto Arthur’s embrace, before giving them a shy wave.

“I FUCKING KNEW MERPEOPLE WERE REAL!” Gwaine yelled excitedly while Elyan and Percival awkwardly waved back, Lancelot and Leon just smiling at them.

Merlin chuckled in evident relief, turning to look back at the King.

A thought suddenly came to Arthur.

“Will- will you go back? To the sea?” he asked with hesitation, “Now that you have your tail back?” he added, trying not to show his sorrow at the mere thought.

It would be the natural thing, wouldn’t it?

However, Merlin gave him a small smile, surprising the King by gently shaking his head.

“Why?” he softly asked, hope beginning to unfurl on his chest as Merlin smiled delicately, blushing as he looked down.

The raven took off Arthur’s hand from his face, placing it over his heart while his other hand trailed to the King’s chest; before staring up at him with warmth affection shinning in his eyes.

_Oh._

And Arthur understood.

Cupping Merlin’s face in his hands, the King bowed down his head at the same time the raven tilted his.

Slowly, their lips met in a gentle kiss, Merlin resting his hand on Arthur’s cheek while the other cradled his head from behind.

Wolf whistles sounded in the distance, and the blond could faintly hear Leon demand coin from Lancelot and Gwaine; but he didn’t care.

All the King cared about was the feeling of his beloved in his arms.

When they break the kiss for air, they barely separate, just pressing their foreheads together while ignoring the burning on their cheeks, Merlin looking at him with a soft smile.

Arthur blinked before frowning.

“But- how will you go back to Camelot with me?”

Merlin leveled him with a look while rising and wiggling his fingers before pointing to his tail and making a walking motion with two digits.

_‘Magic’_

Right. Arthur had suggested it back then after all.

“You- you can really do that?” he asked anyway. Merlin gave him a nod, looking fondly annoyed at him.

“But you’ve never done it before!” the blond exclaimed, remembering the walking lessons.

Merlin hit him with his tail.

 _‘My father was teaching me’_ he revealed, looking down, _‘Before-’_

“So now that you’re not under the curse-” Arthur guessed.

Merlin smiled, before taking a deep breath and closing his eyes-

When he opened them, the King couldn’t hold back the gasp of awe.

He’d been expecting to the dark yellow sorcerers had, but the merman’s eyes were glowing the most beautiful shade of gold Arthur had ever seen, rivaling all the riches known to man and the stars upon the sky-

Arthur felt the scales against his body quiver, slowly moving side by side until they faintly shone the same gold at his beloved’s eyes till it faded and revealed a familiar pair of milk white legs.

The King barked out a laugh of elation before turning to look at Merlin, who let out a shaky breath (more likely from the effort) before smiling at him with love shining in his eyes.

“Let’s go home”

**Author's Note:**

>  _Un bach o'r môr_ = Welsh for 'Little one of the sea'
> 
> This didn’t make it into the fic (I couldn’t find where to put it), but the reason why Merlin recognizes the merlin falcon to give his name to Arthur is because Balinor would take his son up to the surface to reminisce about Hunith, and showed him his namesake at one point.
> 
> I honestly believe that merpeople on land can easily suffer from heat exhaustion as a side-effect from not being on water, since this type of exhaustion is caused by loss of water and salt in the body.


End file.
